The Baltimore Ravens earned plenty of attention this offseason. The saga around the Maxx Crosby deal, the Jesse Minter hire, and the Trey Hendrickson signing all sent waves through the rest of the league.
But after a wildly disappointing 2025 campaign, did Baltimore do enough to recover its status as one of the top contenders in the AFC?
Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleski doesn't think so. In a recent article grading the offseason of every team in the league, he gave the Ravens a "D." Sobleski said, "It's difficult to look at the Baltimore Ravens and say they're a better team today than they were last season."
Ravens' underwhelming offseason receives brutal grade
The Ravens underwent plenty of changes this offseason. Whether that change will bring any sort of measurable improvement is still up for debate. After detailing the significant losses of John Harbaugh and Tyler Linderbaum, Sobleski said, "Outside of Baltimore's dubious handling of the Maxx Crosby trade, which ultimately led to the signing of Trey Hendrickson, the Ravens did little to seriously upgrade their roster."
Hendrickson and John Simpson may have been the only starters that the Ravens added in free agency. Outside of Olaivavega Ioane, Baltimore may not see major impacts from any of its rookies in the first stretch of the season. With key contributors like Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, and Dre'Mont Jones headed elsewhere, there were more holes than Eric DeCosta was able to fill. The roster, as Sobleski states, is likely worse than it was heading into 2025.
Clearly, the Ravens are banking on their new coaching staff to lift the talent of the existing roster. Harbaugh, for all of his success, is not a tactician. Under his leadership, Baltimore often lacked answers against some of the best teams in football. Minter, Anthony Weaver, and Declan Doyle could be enough to maximize stars like Hendrickson, Lamar Jackson, and Derrick Henry.
The optimistic case for the Ravens requires a good bit of projection. At first glance, this team probably took a slight step back this offseason. That's difficult to stomach for a franchise with clear Super Bowl expectations.
Meanwhile, teams like the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs have made more aggressive improvements to their rosters.
Of course, the true status of the Ravens in the AFC won't be determined until the fall. At this point, though, it seems like they're falling behind their conference opponents.
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